Satyaki Banerjee

Satyaki Banerjee’s musical practice stands on two strong foundations: classical discipline and lived folk experience. Trained in sarod under the late Pandit Dipak Chowdhury and presently under Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, he carries forward a rigorous lineage of Indian classical music. At the same time, his relationship with folk traditions has grown through direct engagement with practicing musicians in akhras, village gatherings, and melas, where he learnt the dotara in its natural social setting.

His playing reflects structure, improvisation, and oral tradition in equal measure. Alongside the sarod and dotara, he is a self-taught oud and rebab player and a committed singer of Bengali mystical poetry in the baul and kirtan traditions. His performances carry text, melody, and rhythm as a single narrative form.

Since 2005, Satyaki has been part of the Anglo-Bengali ensemble Parapar, with members based in Kolkata and London. Through this platform and his independent work, he has performed widely with Moushumi Bhowmik in India and abroad, including concerts in New York, London, Leeds, Dhaka, and Chittagong. His work moves easily between intimate acoustic settings and large public spaces, always keeping the song at the center.

Beyond performance, Satyaki approaches music as a field of study. Trained as a historian, he brings academic attention to the traditions he practices, treating music as both a living art and a cultural record. This seriousness informs his work as a composer and director as well. He served as the music director for the Bengali web series Birohi (2021) and is also a member of the experimental ensemble Borno Anonyo.